1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a V-belt type continuously variable transmission for utility vehicle to be coupled to a crankshaft of an engine so as to transmit motive power.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,683 B1 discloses a conventional structure of a V-belt type continuously variable transmission to be mounted in a utility vehicle, in which a transmission case is integrated with a crankcase on one end surface of the crankcase of an engine in the crankshaft direction, and a transmission cover is attached to a cover attachment surface of the transmission case by bolts. The cover attachment surface of the transmission case is formed in a vertical plane which is orthogonal to a substantially horizontal crankshaft. Therefore, when the transmission cover is attached to and detached from the cover attachment surface, the plurality of bolts is inserted into and removed from boss portions formed in the transmission cover in the horizontal direction, from the side of the vehicle.
However, in a case where pipe members of a vehicle body frame or vehicle parts or the like exist in the vicinity of the boss portions of the transmission cover, those parts and the bolts are brought into contact with each other in a case of inserting and removing the bolts, so that attachment and detachment tasks of the transmission cover are troublesome. Particularly, in the utility vehicle, the engine and the V-belt type continuously variable transmission are accommodated in a narrow chassis. Thus, difficulty of the attachment and detachment tasks of the bolts and the transmission cover is unavoidable.
Meanwhile, when the V-belt type continuously variable transmission is arranged in such a manner that the bolt insertion boss portions of the transmission cover are away from other parts, spaces for removing and inserting the bolts are generated, so that size of the vehicle is increased.